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SENATOR FfjYE OF MAINE. 



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SENATOR FRYE OF MAINE. 



He " spake such good thoughts natural. 




KXATOR FRYE, of Maine, is the 
best political orator in America. 

His speeches are expressed better, 
surcharged with more pertinent ma- 
terial, more pleasingly and effect- 
ively delivered, more in popular 
demand, than those of any other 
stump speaker. 

Maine lias the happy knack of 
to the fore-front of the nation, men of 
the brightest intellect. The name of Thomas B. 
Reed springs into mind, and we think of Hale, of 
Boutelle, of many others, but Senator Frye fol- 
lows more closely than anybody else in the foot- 
steps of the illustrious James G. Blaine. 

Many years ago the Republicans of New Hamp- 
shire sent a committee to Mr. Blaine, urging him to 



Keepm 



SENATOR FETE OF MALM:. 



sneak in the state. This he could not thru do, but 
he promised to send a good man. 

He sent Hon. William P. Five. 

The Republicans of the state have been earnestly 
sending for Mr. Frve ever since, and he has been 
here many times, and the Republican party of New 
Hampshire is under very great obligation to him. 

He spoke first, I think, at Portsmouth, and was a 
revelation to the people there, but has since ad- 
dressed overflowing audiences in all of the larger 
and many of the smaller places in the state. 

Mr. Frye's preeminent celebrity as a public polit- 
ical debater does not differ here from what it is 
everywhere throughout New England, and indeed 
throughout the whole North, for he has spoken re- 
peatedly in almost every northern state in the Union, 
and in nearly all of the large towns and cities. 

When Blaine resigned the chairmanship of the 
Republican state committee of Maine, in 1881, 
Frve was elected to till the vacancy. He followed 
Blaine to congress, and when Blaine was made 
secretary of state, Frye was chosen for his place 
in the national senate, taking the seat March 18, 
1881. He was re-elected in l<ss:>, and again in 
1888. His present term of service will expire 
March 3, next. 

His re-election is unanimously conceded. 



S EN, i TOM FT! YE OF MAIN E. 5 







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Senator Wm, P. Frye. 



SENATOti FUYE OF MAINE. 



The custom of re-electing senators prevails now 

to such an extent throughout the several states, that 
the exceptions are few. In confirmation of this 
statement, examine the following- list of prom- 
inent senators who have been rewarded with re- 
election and advanced beyond their first term of 
service in the senate : 



Ahlrich, Nelson Wilmarth, Rhode Island 
Allison, William B., Iowa . 
Blackburn, Joseph C. S., Kentucky 
Morgan, John T., Alabama 
Pugh, James L., Alabama . 
Jones, James K., Arkansas 
Berry, James H., Arkansas 
Teller, Henry M., Colorado 
Hawley, Joseph R., Connecticut 
Piatt, Orville H., Connecticut . 
Cray, George, Delaware 
(all, Wilkinson, Florida 
Colquitt, Alfred Holt, Georgia . 
Cullom, Shelby M., Illinois 
Yoorhees, Daniel Wolsey, Indiana 
Turpie, David, Indiana 
Wilson, James F., Iowa 
Hale, Eugene, Maine . 
Frye, William P., Maine 
Gorman, Arthur P., Maryland . 
Hoar, George F., Massachusetts 
Davis, Cushman Kellogg, Minnesota 
George, James Z., Mississippi . 
Cockrell, Francis Marion, Missouri 



3d term. 

4th " 

2d " 

3d " 

3d " 

2d •• 

2d '• 

3d " 

3d " 

3d lt 

3d " 

3d ' ; 

2d " 

2d " 

3d " 

2d " 

2d " 

3d " 

3d '• 

3d " 

3d lk 

2d " 

3d lt 

3d " 



S E X ATO E Fi: ) ' /•: ( >F MAINE. 



Vest, George Graham, Missouri 
Manderson, Charles F., Nebraska 
Stewart, William Morris, Nevada 
Jones, John P., Nevada .... 
McPherson, John R., New Jersey 
Ransom, Matt W., North Carolina 

Sherman, John, Ohio 

Mitchell, John H., Oregon .... 
Dolph, Joseph N., Oregon .... 
Cameron, James Donald, Pennsylvania . 
Quay, Matthew Stanley, Pennsylvania 
Butler, Matthew Calbraithe, South Carolina 
Harris, Isham G., Tennessee 
Bate, William B., Tennessee 

Coke, Richard, Texas 

Morrill, Justin Smith, Vermont 
Daniel, John Warwick, Virginia 
Squire, Watson C, Washington 
Faulkner, Charles James, West Virginia . 



3d term. 

2d " 

2d tl 

4th " 

3d " 

4th " 

3d " 

2d " 

2d " 

3d " 

2d " 

3d " 

3d " 

2d " 

3d " 

5th " 

2d " 

2d " 

2d " 



Senator Frye and our own Senator Chandler are 
very favorably suggestive each of the other. These 
two radical Republican leaders are in many ways 
alike ; their characteristics and tastes are largely the 
same, their companionship at Washington very close, 
their public duties and interests there identical, their 
personal friendship long and warm. 

In the presidential campaign of 1868, when 
Senator Chandler was secretary of the National 
Republican committee, he first met Mr. Frye, and 
ever since then they have been intimate friends. 



SENATOR FllYE OF MAINE. 



Five was a young lawyer, with some political ambi- 
tion. He beganmaking political speeches, growing 

in power and popularity, and soon became one of 
the recognized national speakers, now the best 
known stump speaker in the United States. 

The best public speaking is the highest exercise of 
human functions. It is the most exacting of all the 
demands upon the intellect, and brings into quick 
requisition the greatest number of faculties, physical 
and mental. Oratory is the gift of nature, and yet 
a power to be acquired, developed, perfected, — 
acquired by hard study, developed by frequent prac- 
tice, perfected by the confluence of the arts and 
sciences. There may have been, and there may be 
now, a few choice minds that radiate great thoughts — 
fertile, intuitive, and sensitive mirrors of brilliant 
ideas, inexplicable geniuses, battling analysis, — but 
Senator Frye does not belong to that ethereal class. 
His eloquence is graceful, — there is a rhythm, a 
cadence, and a magnetism to it. — but it is of the 
practical, sensible, logical, common-sense kind. It 
interests, it holds, it moves, it pleases, it convinces. 
His heart is full of feeling, and swells into gracious 
expression. He thinks deeply, strongly, correctly, 
and then speaks frankly, fearlessly, honestbr, and 
forcibly, having full faith in what he says : and the 
effect is magical. 



1/1 




1 S /•; XA TO R FR YE OF MA I X E. 

" This man," observes ftlirabeau, " will do some- 
what : he believes every word he says." 

Senator Frye's style is generally colloquial, not 
grandiloquent, but yet it has that all-potent element, 
that mysterious and intangible something or another, 
which is not a physical gift, nor the result of intel- 
lectual culture, but which charms the ears of his 
auditors and takes the public mind by storm. His 
arguments are substantial, his reasons cogent, his 
theories plausible, his illustrations apt. his resources 
not those of the dramatist, or the formal rhetorician, 
but drawn from deep wells of actual personal expe- 
rience and practical observation in the every-day 
affairs of real life, as well as from the exhaustless 
reservoirs of classic and general reading. When he 
rises to speak he may not know in just what exact 
form of language he is about to express himself, 
but he is sure of certain ideas, great underlying 
principles of government, of political economy, of 
Republicanism, — fundamental truths thoroughly 
thought out, safe springs of action on which he may 
depend for the inspiration of the moment. 

George William Curtis said of Wendell Phillips, 
"The secret of the rose's sweetness, the bird's 
ecstasy, or the sunset's glory, — that is the secret of 
genius and eloquence." 

When you see a great orator you behold a great 



SK.XA TOR FR YE OF M, 1 INE. 11 



man. The qualities of great oratory are such that 
it cannot have origin in shallowness, nor be founded 
in meanness and insincerity. The true orator must 
have been a hard student. lie, first of all, must 
have a thorough acquaintance with human nature. 
He must perfectly understand his materials, the 
subject he is to handle, his models, the history of 
his race, and most of all he must understand himself. 
Orators like Frye are not the result of accident. 

Macaulav says — I think in his life of the elder 
Pitt — that nearly all forceful and eloquent speakers, 
in parliament, have become such by practising upon 
their audiences, and that almost any man of fair 
parts can become fluent by beginning early and 
practising sufficiently. I do not think that Senator 
Five attained his present proficiency by practising 
upon any audiences who were not attracted and 
delighted by his words, but undoubtedly to his unre- 
mitting practice he owes much of the fluency and 
fascination of his splendid speeches. In recent 
years, stump speaking being no longer a novelty to 
him, he has endeavored to lessen his efforts in that 
direction, but the popular demand for him as a 
speaker is so great and so widespread that it is 
difficult for him to resist. 

Different ages produce different styles of oratory. 
The emphases and cadences of eloquence vary from 



12 SENATOR FBYE OF MAINE. 

epoch to epoch. The construction and delivery of 

public addresses in times of peace do not admit of 
the impassioned efforts that might become greal 
crises, but patriotic hearts like that of Senator Five 
would rouse grandly in defence of human life and 
liberty. Carlyle may have declared that England 
and America are going to nothing but wind and 
tongue, that silence is the eternal duty of man, but 
language in its clearest, purest, most effective exer- 
cise can never become a lost art. There may no 
longer be a Mirabeau in the national assembly ; the 
rhetoric of legislative bodies may not be as florid as 
that of Sheridan; occasion may not soon evolve 
another Patrick Henry; such exemplar lights as 
Clay and Webster, as Chatham, Fox, and Pitt, as 
Burke, Brougham, and Bright, as Everett and Sum- 
ner, may have touched the horizon ; but bright, new 
schools are already meeting the demands of our day, 
fitting the needs and desires of advancing civiliza- 
tion. It is not the age of iron, nor of wood, but 
the golden age of sensible speech in which Ave live. 
The grace is none the less, the triumph the higher 
one of reason, truth, and justice. 

Victor Hugo has declared that mankind is no 
longer owned, but guided. History the picture has 
become history the mirror, and the new reflection 
of the past will modify the future, giving us a new 



S EN AT OH FR YE OF M. 1 IXE. 1 3 



aspect of facts. Nothing can escape the law of 
simplification. 

Simplification and suggestiveness are great merits 
in the speeches of Mr. Frye, and yet he possesses 
that "intangible influence, invisible efflux of per- 
sonal power which radiates from the orator's nature 
like heat from iron." 

When delivered they are masterpieces for preser- 
vation, and yet he never, with hardly an exception, 
prepares a speech by writing it out in advance. His 
masterly effort at Boston, in May, L893, a beautiful 
tribute to the memory of his friend, James G. 
Blaine, was one of the exceptions. 1 have heard 
him say that his ideas do not seem to move quickly 
until he begins to move his arms in gesticulation, 
thru his thoughts flow rapidly, and are absolutely 
clear and distinct in their utterance. As a result of 
his long practice, he remembers figures, amounts, 
quantities, and distances with great accuracy, and 
recalls names and incidents with certainty. He is 
only seldom in error as to a fact. Thus clear and 
definite and specific, he is blessed with a vivid 
imagination, which comes into play when he speaks, 
and he ornaments and illustrates his discourses with 
occasional high flights of unalloyed eloquence. 

His speeches in both houses of congress, and his 
incidental non-political addresses, all have the same 



14 SENATOR FRYE OF MAINE. 

c< nnmendable characteristics. He has stamped upon 
his strongly-marked features the impress of superior 
intellectuality and of a remarkable command of 
language, indicated by a massive brow and prom- 
inent nose. 

lie is direct, pronounced, and enthusiastic, as 
much so in the senate as anywhere else, but perhaps 
not quite so vehement. He is always listened to, 
whether making a short or a long speech, intently 
listened to by every one within the sound of his 
magnificent voice. 

Mr. Frye in private life is a man of scrupulous 
integrity and honor. He is religions in his tenden- 
cies. — I think a Congregationalist, or a Presbyterian, 
— a strictly temperate man, making temperance 
speeches now and then. He is very devoted in his 
friendships, entirely taken up with his family life 
and his duties as a senator, and I might say as a 
public orator for his party. 

lie is a good story-teller, and loves fun. He is 
fond of sports, especially is he an expert trout and 
salmon fisherman, and from fishing gets his prin- 
cipal recreation, going every summer to his comfort- 
able log camp, on a little island in the Kangeley 
lakes, opposite Indian Rock. 

He is a man of pleasing personality, fine phy- 
sique, of moderate fortune, acquired mostly by dili- 








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16 SENATOR FU YE OF MAINE. 



gent service in the law, before be entered congress. 
He was graduated from Bowdoin college when 1 ( .) 
years of age; when 28 he was chosen attorney- 
general of his state ; and when 39 he was elected 
to the lower house of congress, where he immedi- 
ately took front rank as a debater. As a lawyer he 
was noted for the rapidity with which he was able 
to absorb the facts of a case, and the promptness 
with which he met every new phase of its develop- 
ment . In the examination of witnesses he especially 
excelled. The supreme court-room of Androscoggin 
county was the arena of many a famous trial, and, 
as is usual in New England shire towns, these fre- 
quently called out great numbers of eager listeners. 
This was emphatically true of those cases in which 
Mr. Frye was of counsel. Some of the prosecutions 
which he was called upon to conduct as prosecuting 
officer were for capital offences, celebrated in the 
annals of the criminal enses of Maine. He is well- 
grounded in the knowledge of the law, and was a 
very successful jury advocate, having undoubtedly 
the same success with juries as he has upon the stump, 
in carrying with him the sympathy of his auditors. 
lie has no ambition in politics, beyond another 
term in the senate, to which, as has been stated, 
he will be elected without opposition in his state. 
as no man has more devoted friends, who give 



SENATOR FRYE OF MAINE. 17 



him their support without money and without price. 

Mr. Frye excelled especially in the discussion of 
the slavery question, and he has always been a 
Leader m the consideration of all measures pertain- 
ing to the welfare of the colored race. The War of 
the Rebellion, and the obligation of the nation to 
the soldiers of the Union, have enlisted his valuable 
attention, and he has energetically denounced frauds 
in election, as illustrated by Democratic crimes 
against the suffrage. 

Our important foreign relations, the protective 
tariff and its relations to the welfare of the plain 
people of the United States. — especially the wage- 
earners, — have been problems of great concern with 
him ; and the great commercial questions, particu- 
larly the restoration of the merchant marine. 

He is perhaps at his very best when discussing 
the relation of the tariff to labor, or rather the con- 
dition of the American workingman as affected by 
the high wages resulting from the tariff. 

rt has been said of him, that at every political 
meeting which he has ever addressed there have 
been some known conversions, resulting from his 
speech, from the opposite political party to his own. 

.Mr. Frye is a public man of the highest order, 
because, first, he is absolutely conscientious ; second, 
he devotes himself to large questions ; third, he has 



1 8 S EN . I TOE FR YE OF MA INE. 



great intellectual attainments as well as a great 
faculty of speech. These three traits contribute to 

make him a statesman. 

He has held local offices; was elected and re- 
elected mayor of Lewiston, in 1866 and 1867; in 1864 

he served as a presidential elector; in 1861, 1862, 
and 1867, he was chosen a representative of his city 
in the state legislature : he was elected a member of 
the National Republican executive committee, in 
1*72 : was re-elected in 1876, and again in 1880. 
He was a delegate to the National Republican con- 
vention in 1<S72. 1876, and 1880; he was made trus- 
tee of Bowdoin college in June. 1880, and received 
the degree of LL. 1). from Bates college, in 1881, 
and the same degree from Bowdoin college in 1889. 
In the lower house of congress he was chairman 
of the library committee, served for several terms 
on the judiciary, and was a member of the committee 
on ways and means. He was a prominent advocate 
of the act admitting parties to testify. In the dis- 
tribution of the Geneva award he espoused the cause 
of the actual losers, conducted that fight in the 
house through four congresses, and in the senate 
through one. until the bill introduced by him orig- 
inally in the house became a law, and the entire 
fund was distributed according to its terms. He 
served on several special committees, and was a 



SENATOR FRTE OF MAINE. 19 



most influential and absolutely upright member. 

In the senate he was for several years chairman 
of the committee on commerce, one of the largest 
and most important in that body; a member of the 
committee on foreign relations, and on privileges 
and elections, and also chairman of a special com- 
mittee on Pacific railroads. 

He is now a member of the committee on com- 
merce and foreign relations, and on Revolutionary 
chums. He took a leading part in the abrogation 
of the fishery articles, in the treaty with Great 
Britain, and in all matters touching our fishery rela- 
tions with Canada. It was largely through his 
efforts that the attention of the country was called 
to the condition of affairs in Samoa, and a settle- 
ment effected of the complications there. He pre- 
sented a bill providing for the congress of American 
nations, and took charge of it until it became law, 
as he did also of the bill providing for the maritime 
congress, and of all legislation resulting therefrom. 

His postal subsidy and tonnage bills received a 
generous share of his attention for several years. 
The enactment of the former into law, and the 
passage of the latter through the senate in the Fifty- 
first congress were largely due to his efforts. His 
zealous championship of these measures is warmly 
appreciated by all who are interested in the welfare 



20 SENATOR FRYE OF MAINE. 

of American shipping. He has taken charge in the 
senate of all matters relating to the general com- 
merce, including river and harbor lulls, and every- 
thing pertaining to shipping. The senate in all 
these matters has given him its entire confidence, 
and seldom fails to give its sanction to any measure 
reported and urged by him. His continuance in 
that body has given him great prestige and power. 
He has been a leader in the shaping and enactment 
of laws along various and important lines, and. 
indeed, it may be safely asserted that he has been 
closely identified with most of the important legis- 
lation of congress for the past twenty years. 

When Col. Robert C [ngersoll, in his memorable 
speech of nomination, presented the name of James 
G-. Blaine for the presidency, i1 was Mr. Frye, who. 
in an able and glowing tribute, seconded the nom- 
ination. 

It is safely said that he will hold a place in the 
scroll of history, and in the niche of national fame, 
equal to the famous men of New England in whose 
footsteps he has so prominently and ably followed. 
In my opinion his illustrious name will go down to 
posterity along with those of ^Vebster, Clay, Cal- 
houn, Crittenden, McDuffie, Preston. Douglas, in 
the sen-ate, and of .John Quincy Adams, Cushing, 
Hoffman, Evans, and Marshall in the house. 




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